Verbal Sequences Research Articles

Retention of Verbal and Nonverbal Sequence Information in Working Memory. Analysis of Functional and Effective Connections

Retention of Verbal and Nonverbal Sequence Information in Working Memory. Analysis of Functional and Effective Connections

Finger Configurations and Kindergarteners’ Mathematical Abilities

ABSTRACT Previous research has demonstrated a link between children’s ability to name canonical finger configurations and their mathematical abilities. This study aimed to investigate the nature of this association, specifically exploring whether the relationship is skill and handshape specific and identifying the underlying mechanisms involved. Five-year-old children in Spain (N = 143) were assessed on their ability to name canonical finger configurations and analogous representations (buildings on a hill), alongside a range of mathematical skills (counting, knowledge of the verbal count sequence, single-digit arithmetic, and subitizing). Findings indicated that five-year-olds only recognize single-hand canonical finger configurations as summary symbols, processing them holistically. However, no direct association was found between the ability to recognize these configurations and the assessed mathematical skills. Notably, only the ability to name finger configurations corresponding to larger numbers (requiring enumeration) was associated with children’s arithmetic skills, suggesting that these configurations elicit combinatorial processes that are handshape specific. The implications of these findings for cognitive development and mathematical assessment are discussed, highlighting the potential for finger configurations as a tool for fostering mathematical understanding and the need for further exploration of their cognitive underpinnings.

JOURNALISTIC USE OF LANGUAGE ON THE CAMPAIGN FOR LOCAL ELECTIONS IN ROMANIA 2020 IN THE GERMAN-LANGUAGE MINORITY NEWSPAPER ADZ FOR ROMANIA

The present paper aims to analyze four journalistic texts belonging to the column Meinung und Bericht of the German newspaper existing in Romania ADZ für Rumänien from pragmalinguistic action theoretical viewpoint. The texts, giving the name of the author on the by line, are about actual events in Romania and they contain many verbal sequences and words expressing their opinion. The article concentrates on how and by which linguistic means of expressions is illustrated the position of the ADZjournalists on the local election campaign in Romania on 27th September 2020.

Interrelations Between Acuity of the Approximate Number System and Symbolic Skills in Preschool Children

ABSTRACT This study investigates how the approximate number system (ANS) and young children’s symbolic skills jointly develop and interact. Specifically, the study aims at disentangling the directionality of the association between ANS acuity and a wide range of symbolic skills that reflect 4- to 5-year-olds’ symbolic quantitative knowledge (enumeration skills, knowledge of the verbal count sequence, symbolic comparison skills, and single-digit arithmetic). After accounting for individual differences in several domain-general skills (visuospatial working memory, non-verbal reasoning, and phonological processing), path models on longitudinal data collected from 4-year-old childen in Spain (N = 62) over one year revealed that earlier single-digit arithmetic and symbolic magnitude comparison skills predicted changes in ANS acuity over time. No contribution from earlier ANS to improvements in symbolic skills was found. Notably, the strength of the effect of visuospatial working memory on improvements in ANS acuity over time was like that of the auto-regressor – the correlation between measures of ANS acuity across time points. Implications for extant theories on the nature of the associations between ANS and young children’s symbolic skills are drawn.

Retention of verbal and nonverbal information in the working memory. An analysis of functional and effective connectivity

In this work we estimated differences in the structure of brain systems that ensure encoding and retention in working memory (WM) of two types of information: verbal (letters) and non-verbal (segments of an open broken line) sequences presented either statically or dynamically. Brain systems were characterized by the strength of functional and effective connections between eight approximately bilaterally symmetrical cortical loci, including the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and regions of the temporal (STG), parietal (IPS), and occipital (v2) cortices. Using an 8-channel vector autoregressive model in the space of cortical EEG sources, it was shown in a group of subjects in whom high-density EEG was recorded that: (1) the brain organization of the WM when holding a sequence of letters differs from that when holding a sequence of broken line segments; (2) the brain organization of the WM depends on the mode of presentation of sequences: the strength of the functional connection is different during dynamic and static presentation of the sequence; (3) differences in the structure of functional and effective connections are not of a pronounced frequency-selective nature and are observed in all studied EEG frequency ranges from theta (4–8 Hz) to high-frequency gamma (50–60 Hz); (4) the most reliable differences between the task of retaining a sequence of letters and the task of retaining a sequence of broken line segments are observed in the alpha and beta frequency ranges during static visual presentation of sequences in the strength of functional connectivity measured using coherence between the left hemisphere dlPFC and the right hemisphere STG, as well as in theta range between the right hemisphere dlPFC and the left visual cortex v2; (5) the most reliable difference between static and dynamic presentation modes is observed in the task of holding broken line segments in the gamma frequency range (50–60 Hz) between the dlPFC in the right hemisphere and the left visual cortex v2.

Distinguishing Intuitive and Deliberative Reasoning Regarding Different Aspects of Science Classroom Discourse

Purpose The current study aimed to identify the distances between a science teacher's intuitive reasoning and researchers’ systematic analysis of various aspects of science classroom discourse. An expert science teacher, given the pseudonym Jake, engaged in self-reflective processes regarding different aspects of classroom discussions to assess the variations and similarities between the teacher's intuitive estimations and the researchers’ data-based reasoning. Design/Approach/Methods Data collection involved in-depth interviews and video recording. Six aspects of science classroom discourse were considered to elucidate the distances: structure, interactional pattern, verbal sequence, typology, cognitive demand, and communicative approaches. Findings The quantitative distances between Jake's estimations and systematic observations of the six aspects of science classroom discourse varied across different aspects of the observed science lesson. While no consistent pattern was observed in the distances, there were increasing and decreasing gaps between the different aspects of science classroom discourse. Originality/Value Considering the contemporary arguments on human cognition and the professional development of science teachers, potential reasons for the differences were explored. Educational recommendations were provided, particularly regarding supporting science teachers’ journey toward becoming reflective inquirers or researcher-teachers.

Role of the prefrontal cortex in musical and verbal short-term memory: A functional near-infrared spectroscopy study

Abstract Auditory short-term memory (STM) is a key process in auditory cognition, with evidence for partly distinct networks subtending musical and verbal STM. The delayed matching-to-sample task (DMST) paradigm has been found suitable for comparing musical and verbal STM and for manipulating memory load. In this study, musical and verbal DMSTs were investigated with measures of activity in frontal areas with functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS): Experiment 1 compared musical and verbal DMSTs with a low-level perception task (that does not entail encoding, retention, or retrieval of information), to identify frontal regions involved in memory processes. Experiment 2 manipulated memory load for musical and verbal materials to uncover frontal brain regions showing parametric changes in activity with load and their potential differences between musical and verbal materials. A FIR model was used to deconvolute fNIRS signals across successive trials without making assumptions with respect to the shape of the hemodynamic response in a DMST. Results revealed the involvement of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and inferior frontal gyri (IFG), but not of the superior frontal gyri (SFG) in both experiments, in keeping with previously reported neuroimaging data (including fMRI). Experiment 2 demonstrated a parametric variation of activity with memory load in bilateral IFGs during the maintenance period, with opposite directions for musical and verbal materials. Activity in the IFGs increased with memory load for verbal sound sequences, in keeping with previous results with n-back tasks. The decreased activity with memory load observed with musical sequences is discussed in relation to previous research on auditory STM rehearsal strategies. This study highlights fNIRS as a promising tool for investigating musical and verbal STM not only for typical populations, but also for populations with developmental language disorders associated with functional alterations in auditory STM.

Expressive Speech Acts Used to Open and Close Dialogues in Present-Day Romanian

The following paper starts from the acknowledgment that, in the present-day Romanian language, interlocutors display an increased preference for the use of unconventional devices as opening and closing sequences of speech acts. Their employment depends on the type of context in which a verbal interaction takes place (formal vs informal context) and on the parameters of social distance and communicative force, which determine the relationship between the participants in a certain speech act. Conventional greetings are also taken into consideration in research, but the purpose of the paper is to prove that in addition to standard greetings, certain expressive speech acts, which “borrow” their functions, may be found. Some of the expressive speech acts that have been analyzed have positive connotations (e.g., compliments, praises, appreciations, condolences), as their formation is based on maintaining a harmonious relationship between interlocutors. Other expressive speech acts have negative connotations (e.g., insults, imprecations, reproaches, criticisms), since they are based on the destructive nature of the interpersonal relationships in which they originate. The paper analyzes such verbal sequences, which enclose dialogues, and highlights the functions that they develop in communication. To this end, concepts and precepts from the theory of speech acts are used, and the overall methodological framework pertains to pragmatics.

Evaluation of reliability and validity of the Serbian Aphasia Screening Test.

A rise in strokes worldwide means that the number of people affected by aphasia is increasing. Early and accurate diagnosis of aphasia is crucial for recovery. Presently, there are no dedicated screening tests tailored for evaluating aphasia in Serbian-speaking individuals. This paper presents and describes the psychometric properties of the Serbian Aphasia Screening Test (SAST), a novel aphasia screening tool designed specifically for Serbian speakers. This initiative fills the gap in aphasia assessment tools for the Serbian population, providing a comprehensive and culturally sensitive approach to the evaluation of language disorders. Data using the SAST were collected from 240 participants: 120 Serbian speakers with aphasia after stroke compared to 120 neurotypical individuals. The assessment included the following subtests: conversation, verbal automatized sequences, auditory comprehension, visual confrontation naming, responsive naming, repetition of words, repetition of sentences, oral word reading, oral sentence reading, reading comprehension, and writing. The main objectives were to ascertain the psychometric qualities of the SAST, including inter-rater reliability of scoring, test-retest reliability, reliability of the individual subtests, overall test reliability, and inter-correlations among subtests. Additionally, the study evaluated the discriminatory capability of the SAST in distinguishing between individuals with aphasia and neurotypical controls, as well as between individuals with different types of aphasia. The findings revealed that the SAST has excellent inter-rater reliability, test-retest reliability, and internal consistency. There were statistically significant differences between individuals with aphasia and neurotypical controls on all SAST subtests. Furthermore, the study identified significant differences in language profiles among participants with different types of aphasia. The significant correlations between scores on the SAST and on the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination (BDAE) suggest good convergent validity of the SAST. The results underscore the robust psychometric properties of this novel screening assessment (SAST) and its ability to effectively discriminate between diverse linguistic abilities within different aphasia syndromes in Serbian speaking individuals.

Университетский медиадискурс как средство патриотического воспитания молодежи

Most institutions of higher education have official websites that are represented in social networks and messengers, thus providing students with relevant information. Patriotic education being a state priority, university media can also help to raise patriotism in students and develop an objective view of this state value. This research featured the Telegram channel of the Chelyabinsk State University in 2020–2022. The medialinguistic method made it possible to reveal the peculiarities of interaction between verbal and non-verbal sequences while the pragmalinguistic analysis helped to establish the communicative intention of the media text. The messages were multimodal and combined different types of information. The greatest pragmatic impact belonged to the publications that combined visual, textual, and auditory information. Patriotic narrative resonated with the target audience through a compilation of verbal and non-verbal components, such as facial expressions, gestures, intonation, body movement, and postures, that aimed at one and the same pragmatic effect.

OPTIMIZATION OF PRE-PROCESSING ROUTINES IN SPEECH IMAGERY-BASED EEG SIGNALS

Speech imagery is one type of mental imagery specific to processing verbal sequences and plays a vital role in human thought processes. Speech imagery has become an interesting paradigm for researchers as speech imagery has a high similarity to real voice communication. Electroencephalography (EEG) is a noninvasive electrophysiological technique that measures the mental state of the brain directly from the scalp. The nature of the acquired EEG signals is nonlinear and nonstationary. As EEG signals have a low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), artifacts occur during acquisition. Hence, an efficient framework of pre-processing is required to obtain artifact-free EEG for further applications. Selection of the optimal pre-processing techniques for EEG still remains a challenging task. This work focuses on employing and comparing the different pre-processing techniques and lists out the optimal solutions for pre-processing Speech imagery-based EEG signals. The techniques are compared based on the Mean Square Error and Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio values.

Comparing timing of other-initiation of repair: a multimodal approach

When recipients of talk solve troubles of hearing or understanding during a conversation, they utilize other-initiation of repair (OIR), such as questions “what,” “where,” and “you mean x.” These utterances are typically produced with delayed timing. Multimodal, bodily features are also typically included. Although troubles in hearing and understanding are common, there have been few studies comparing the timing of OIR of normally hearing individuals to individuals with hearing impairment, especially from a multimodal perspective. The current study examined video recordings of 14 dyads with normal hearing and with a mild-to-severe degree of hearing impairment. The research focused on verbal OIR sequences (N = 167) and adopted a multimodal approach. The research questions were presented as follows: (1) In relation to the trouble source turn, what is the timing of OIRs?; (2) What visual bodily resources does the recipient utilize during OIR sequences?; (3) Does the timing of OIRs and their visual bodily style of production differ between participants with normal hearing and different degrees of hearing impairment? Conversation analysis with ELAN software was utilized for qualitative and statistical inspection of the data. The results show that gaps preceding OIRs displayed variation and mean values for participants with normal hearing and mild-to-moderate hearing impairment were ~700 ms and with severe hearing impairment ~500 ms. In comparison to other participants in the data, participants with severely deteriorated hearing produced OIRs without delay and utilized more overt visual bodily actions. Especially, the ~200 ms mean gap for open OIRs with participants with severe hearing impairment indicated very fast turn-taking, occurring even in overlap with the trouble source turn. However, all participants took a long time to initiate restricted OIRs than open OIRs. In terms of visual bodily actions, the results showed some fundamental differences. Participants with severe hearing impairment held their gaze at the speaker more intensively than other participants. Other visual bodily actions, such as upper body leaning forward or changes in facial expressions, were found in all participant groups. However, their frequency, timing, and quality displayed variation.

Sex differences in autistic adults: A preliminary study showing differences in mentalizing, but not in narrative coherence

Studying autism might be a complex endeavor due to its clinical heterogeneity. Little is currently known about potential sex differences in autistic adults, especially regarding mentalizing and narrative coherence. In this study, male and female participants told a personal story about one of their most positive and most negative life events and performed two mentalizing tasks. One of these mentalizing tasks was a recently developed Picture and Verbal Sequencing task that has shown cerebellar recruitment, and which requires mentalizing in a sequential context (i.e., participants chronologically ordered scenarios that required true and false belief mentalizing). Our preliminary comparison shows that males were faster and more accurate on the Picture Sequencing task compared to female participants when ordering sequences involving false beliefs, but not true beliefs. No sex differences were found for the other mentalizing and narrative tasks. These results highlight the importance of looking at sex differences in autistic adults and provide a possible explanation for sex-related differences in daily life mentalizing functions, which suggest a need for more sensitive diagnosis and tailored support.

Homework assignment and compliance review from a behavioural perspective: the verbal sequences between therapist and client

Therapeutic (homework) tasks are a characteristic strategy in behavioral psychology to achieve clinical change. The aim of the present study is to determine how behavioural therapists assign therapeutic tasks and review their compliance. Observational methodology was used to analyse the verbal interaction of therapists and clients in 211 recorded sessions (19 complete successful cases) using a validated coding system (SIST-INTER-INSTR). The values for inter- and intra-judge reliability were from good to excellent. The study shows that behavioural psychologists offer motivating verbalisations when assigning therapeutic tasks. During the review of task compliance, therapists frequently provide positive reinforcement when clients report complete compliance with the assigned task but stop the review of tasks when clients report non-compliance or only partial compliance with the task. These sequences provide information about how behavioural therapists provide instructions for therapeutic tasks and review their compliance. This is a first step to study how these verbal sequences favour the establishment of TC and the effectiveness of treatment.

Reflections on verbal sequences in the Apyãwa language

Resumo Investigam-se sequências verbais da língua Apyãwa que se apresentam sob a estrutura pessoa-V1-V2, sendo V1 qualquer verbo lexical, e pertencendo V2 a um seleto grupo de verbos que geralmente manifestam semântica de aspecto ou modalidade. Selecionaram-se os verbos mais produtivos: kwããw ‘saber, conhecer’; patãr ‘querer, desejar’; pãw ‘acabar, terminar’; e kãto ‘ser bonito, ser bom’. Devido à pandemia de Covid-19, não foi possível realizar trabalho de campo; por isso, os dados, em sua maioria, foram extraídos de Praça (2007). Analisou-se a estrutura em cada verbo eleito para este estudo, destacando-se suas principais características: ambos os verbos da sequência serem verbos plenos e as sequências formarem construções mono-oracionais. Tais características apresentadas ora aproximam a estrutura de construções verbais seriais, ora a distanciam delas. O mesmo acontece quando se intenta classificar V2 como um auxiliar. Assim, propõe-se outra análise em que, para os verbos transitivos – kwããw ‘saber, conhecer’ e patãr ‘querer, desejar’ –, ocorre a incorporação do objeto oracional relativo a V1 por V2, e que, no caso dos verbos intransitivos – pãw ‘acabar, terminar’ e kãto ‘ser bonito, ser bom’ –, estes tornam-se modificadores de V1.

VERBAL SHORT-TERM IMPAIRMENT IN DYSLEXIA

Verbal short-term memory impairment is one of the most consistently associated deficits observed indevelopmental reading disorders such as dyslexia. The mechanisms involved in the short-term retention ofinformation for serial tasks may be shared across domains of short-term memory, such as verbal and visuospatialshort-term memory. Few studies have addressed the nature of verbal short-term impairment, particularly with regardto the possibility of temporary serial storage of information. A short-term memory serial order impairment appearsto occur for the retention of verbal and visuospatial sequence information. Impairment in the serial ordering of shorttermmemory is not a characteristic of every individual dyslexic subject and is not specific to dyslexia. Futurestudies should determine whether verbal short-term serial order memory impairment is a risk factor that, inassociation with a deficit in phonological processing, may lead to dyslexia or whether verbal short-term serial ordermemory impairment reflects related deficits unrelated to dyslexia. The purpose of this article is to consider theimplications for dyslexia of one aspect of short-term memory, memory for serialization

On verbal memory span in Chinese speakers: Evidence for employment of an articulation-resistant phonological component

A striking feature of speakers of Chinese is the fact that their immediate verbal memory span tends to be substantially greater than is found for other languages. This is not limited to digits, nor is it is it adequately accounted for in terms of spoken duration. We explore two sources of this potential linguistic advantage, one is in terms of supplementary visual coding. We use the visual similarity effect to assess this hypothesis finding little support for its importance. The second approach assesses the role of subvocal articulation, using articulatory suppression which has been shown to remove the impact of phonological similarity on the recall of visually presented verbal sequences. We find that the phonological similarity effect remains in both Mandarin and Cantonese speakers, suggesting that Chinese language speakers may be able to maintain a phonological representation of the material despite concurrent articulation of an irrelevant utterance. We discuss a possible mechanism and its theoretical implications. Finally, we speculate that this enhanced capacity may reflect an adaptation to the demands of learning to map the Chinese writing system onto a complex tonal language.

From embedded propositions to complex predicates

AbstractThis article examines verbal sequences in Arabic dialects which can correspond either to complex sentences with embedded clauses or to complex predicates with reduction of one or the other verb. The first part is devoted to complex sentences where completives and subordinates of purpose and consequence are introduced by a marker that is generally specific, but sometimes polyfunctional. The second part explores embedding without a subordinator (with distinct or identical subjects), as well as with cases of complex predicates, sometimes with reduction of V1(cases of auxiliarization and pragmatization), sometimes of V2(rare cases of serial verbs).

Working memory asymmetrically modulates auditory and linguistic processing of speech

Working memory load can modulate speech perception. However, since speech perception and working memory are both complex functions, it remains elusive how each component of the working memory system interacts with each speech processing stage. To investigate this issue, we concurrently measure how the working memory load modulates neural activity tracking three levels of linguistic units, i.e., syllables, phrases, and sentences, using a multiscale frequency-tagging approach. Participants engage in a sentence comprehension task and the working memory load is manipulated by asking them to memorize either auditory verbal sequences or visual patterns. It is found that verbal and visual working memory load modulate speech processing in similar manners: Higher working memory load attenuates neural activity tracking of phrases and sentences but enhances neural activity tracking of syllables. Since verbal and visual WM load similarly influence the neural responses to speech, such influences may derive from the domain-general component of WM system. More importantly, working memory load asymmetrically modulates lower-level auditory encoding and higher-level linguistic processing of speech, possibly reflecting reallocation of attention induced by mnemonic load.

Impaired sequence generation: a preliminary comparison between high functioning autistic and neurotypical adults.

Earlier research demonstrated robust cerebellar involvement in sequencing, including high-level social information sequencing that requires mental state attributions, termed mentalizing. Earlier research also found cerebellar deficiencies in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) which are characterized by social difficulties. However, studies on high-level social sequencing functionality by persons with ASD are almost non-existent. In this study, we, therefore, perform a comparison between behavioral performances of high-functioning ASD and neurotypical participants on the Picture and Verbal Sequencing Tasks. In these tasks, participants are requested to put separate events (depicted in cartoon-like pictures or behavioral sentences, respectively) in their correct chronological order. To do so, some of these events require understanding of high-level social beliefs, of social routines (i.e., scripts), or nonsocial mechanical functionality. As expected, on the Picture Sequencing task, we observed longer response times for persons with ASD (in comparison with neurotypical controls) when ordering sequences requiring an understanding of social beliefs and social scripts, but not when ordering nonsocial mechanical events. This confirms our hypotheses that social sequence processing is impaired in ASD. The verbal version of this task did not reveal differences between groups. Our results are the first step toward new theoretical insights for social impairments of persons with ASD. They highlight the importance of taking into account sequence processing, and indirectly the cerebellum when investigating ASD difficulties.